White-eyed Nightmares
by AxleMC131
Summary: (Revised) He took her. Herobrine. He took Moohickyalah, the love of Axle's life. And Axle and the rest of the Grounded team don't even know why or how to get her back, or if she is even still alive. But not for much longer... For a stranger has a score to settle with the demon, Notch has a job for the Grounded team, and Moohicky may be much more than just a normal human...
1. Prologue - The Demi-god's Arrival

**A/N - Hey guys! Axle here. Sorry if I surprised you, but I'm back! I know I haven't been writing any stories in a loooong time, I've been really distracted with other games and family/friend issues, which have been sorted now (thank Notch...). But anyway, I decided that the plotline for WeN was too short, and climaxed then concluded too fast, so I've re-written a few chapters to add a bit of extra content. Don't worry! If you already read WeN, everything past the abandoned hut is the same so far! It was just rather inconclusive. Anyway, if you haven't read it, I'm happy to announce that, because I'm back into the whole area of writing (for a while I hope) you awesome readers out there should be receiving a new chapter every two days or so. The prologue and first chapter are basically identical, so I'll put them up now, but after that some things change and other things haven't been written yet! Hoping you enjoy the new WeN and that I get as many favs and follows etc. as I did for the chapters I had up on the original.**

**- AxleMC131, out.  
Let the adventure begin! (Again!)**

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**PART 1 - Paradise and Purgatory**

**Prologue – The Demi-god's Arrival**

**Axle**

The crack of thunder and lightning. The whistling of skeleton arrows. The groaning and snarling of the undead. The scuttling of spiders, the explosions of creepers, and the clang of sword upon flesh and armour. All these sounds surrounded me as I whirled my diamond blade, killing mob after mob only to be assaulted by more. Nearby I could hear my friends, the rest of the Grounded Team, battling just as fiercely. Moohickyalah was behind me somewhere, Wingnuts and Doomesdaye off to the left, and Jay in front of me, atop a small rise, loosing arrows into the fray. Behind him, the small settlement we had until so recently lived and thrived in, burned steadily. Sparks and smoke rose up over the crumbled stone wall, and the well in the middle of the settlement reflected the red-hot flames. All of our possessions, everything we had mined and gathered and built, had been destroyed. All that remained was what we were carrying at the moment.

We knew this was not a normal mob attack. There were far too many monsters for them to have spawned naturally. No, this had been planned by a force greater than ourselves, or any other normal Minecrafter. This had to be the work of… Him. But why? Maybe the rumours were true, and the Demi-god simply enjoyed watching people die from his antics. But there was no time to think about that now. The monsters were closing in and we had been pushed together into a small group.

Moohicky, my girlfriend, stood shoulder to shoulder with me, swinging her blade as furiously as any of us. "You okay?" I said to her out of the corner of my mouth, dodging an arrow and slicing a zombie's arm clean off.

Moohicky grunted as a spider leaped off the screaming zombie's back and grabbed her sword in its mandibles. She kicked it and it released the blade, only to then be skewered by an arrow from Jay. "Yeah. Fine. You?"

I had scratches all over me, my armour was wrecked and dented, and I could taste blood in my mouth, but I was still standing and fighting like a mad thing. "Yeah."

Doomesdaye, having laid an explosive trap some blocks away, stuck a lever in the ground and pulled it. There was a short hiss. "Everybody DOWN!" the miner yelled, covering his face. I ducked down and met Moohicky's blue eyes. Her jaw was set, and her face said everything. We weren't giving up. If Herobrine had it in for us, so be it. I leaned forward and kissed her briefly on the lips, at the same time as a huge explosion rocked the ground beneath us all. I looked up to see many monster bodies flying through the air. There was a crater in the ground nearby.

Jay and Wingnuts, back to back, were alternating between firing arrows and slicing mobs with their swords. "This is really the life!" Jay yelled, grinning weakly. He was barely standing, his armour broken away in many places, and blood was pouring from several wounds on his body as he blocked and parried the blows of a zombie with a sword. "An infinite number of monsters with us in the middle!" Wingnuts merely grunted in response as he let loose another arrow, hitting a creeper through the head just before it blew.

Doomesdaye was now dual wielding a pick and a sword, slashing and stabbing with the tools. "There's so many of them!" he yelled over the screaming and grunting of angry, dying monsters. "Where are they all coming from!?"

"I don't know!" I yelled back, whacking a skeleton's bow in half with the flat of my blade, before beheading the undead beast.

Moohickyalah took a quick glance at the remains of our humble little settlement. "I can't believe they torched our houses!" she yelled in anguish. "Everything we owned, Axle… Gone!"

"I know," I said back, "It's tragic, but we have to focus on survival for the moment Moohicky!"

Suddenly, the monsters froze. I swung my blade at an enderman who was still within reach and he just teleported away. Every single monster had stopped where they stood. I looked around in confusion. "What the hell is this?" I demanded of no one in particular.

We gathered together in a circle, looking outwards towards the monsters. They were all staring at us with expressionless eyes, but they did not move to attack any further. And then Doomesdaye looked upwards at the lightning-torn night sky. "Notch help us, this is Herobrine's work…" he muttered in despair. Our suspicions had been confirmed. No way was this normal for Minecraftia.

And then, without warning, a bolt of lightning struck the ground right in the middle of our group.

And as if out of nowhere… He appeared.

With the element of pure surprise on his side, he swung his glowing sword at Moohicky. She screamed in pain, and I saw her armour shatter before the mystic blade. My girlfriend collapsed to the ground. Moohicky! I gave an angry squeal and drew out my bow. "Don't you touch her!" I yelled.

In a second there were four bows pulled back to full draw, pointed directly at Herobrine's head.

"Go back to your Nether Realm, Demon," Wingnuts said firmly. "I always thought there was never any good in Herobrine, and you've proved me right!"

The Demi-god turned and stared straight at Wingnuts with his white eyes. And he laughed, a chilling, empty laugh that echoed through our very minds. "Silly, stupid humans. You think you scare me?" I am a God of Minecraftia! I cannot be killed by mere mortals no matter how many enchantments your weapons may have!"

I trembled before the hollow, cold voice, but I held my ground and pulled the arrow back further. "Why Moohicky!?" I demanded, "Why not any of us?"

The Demi-god turned to lock his gaze on me now. His blank eyes seemed to burn with white fire, and I suddenly felt as though he had anchored me to the ground, just by staring at me. I couldn't move or speak from pure fear, only let out a pitiful stammer. Herobrine grinned an evil grin that chilled my very soul, and he spoke again. "That, silly human, is for me to know..." He suddenly raised his sword up high over Moohicky's unconscious form, preparing to finish her off and yelled, "And for you to find out!" And he swung the sword straight down towards Moohicky.

"NO!"

Four arrows simultaneously left their shafts and whistled angrily towards Herobrine. There was an explosion, and I was thrown backwards by several blocks. I shook my head to recover and leaped up, then stared at the point where the Demi-god and Moohicky had been only seconds ago.

The smoke cleared to reveal nothing. I froze in disbelief and felt my stomach constrict, then I fell to my knees, yelling "No! No! No!" over and over again, in pure anguish.

My girlfriend, Moohicky, and the white-eyed Demi-god were gone.


	2. Chapter 1 - Midnight Fears

**PART ONE - PARADISE AND PURGATORY **

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**One – Midnight Fears**

**Axle**

"No!" I sat bolt upright in the hard, makeshift bed. I was covered in a mixture of sweat and tears. I blinked several times then wiped my face with my filthy shirt. Taking several deep breaths, I glanced around the tiny campsite we had made. By the dim light of the embers from the campfire we had built, I could see Doomesdaye and Jay sleeping soundly off to one side. I noticed Wingnuts was awake however, staring at me with a concerned look on his face. I looked away, ashamed.

"You okay Axle?"

"Yeah, yeah. Sure," I replied, trying to convince myself as much as him. I looked up. The moon wasn't visible for the dark clouds that covered the night sky, but it was still probably an hour or two until dawn.

Wingnuts wasn't fooled. I had clearly woken him up with my helpless cries of "No!" "Bad dream?" he inquired in a friendly tone. "You know they're not real."

I shook my head. "No. It's real. I keep seeing... Him. And..." I sniffed loudly. "...and Moohicky."

"Ah."

For a few seconds, Wingnuts was silent in the near-pitch darkness. Then he said, "We will find her Axle. I promise. We all know how much you love her, and besides. She's one of the Grounded team."

I shook my head again. "No, it's useless. She's gone, I know it. He's taken her and killed her..." I broke down into quiet sobbing.

Wingnuts seemed a little taken aback at my refusal to believe she was alive, but he caught on quickly. I had to prepare myself for the worst... If we ever found her and she was dead (Notch help me...) it wouldn't be so painful for me at the time.

"Axle. She's alive, I know it. If Herobrine had simply wanted her dead, he would've slain her and the rest of us the moment he took us by surprise."

It made logical sense. Herobrine wasn't irrational. But... I couldn't believe it... She had to be dead...

I stared up at the clouds again. I felt like dying myself. Four days we had been walking through the forest. Four long, lonely, frustrating days during which I had simply felt like nothing. Like there was a piece of my heart missing, and I would never have it again. I had barely said a word to the other three, preferring to keep my pain to myself. We weren't entirely out of trouble, and I couldn't let my friends be brought down by my solemn mood.

"I... I don't know Wing," I said at last. "It's just that I keep remembering that battle, every time I close my eyes. It scares the crap out of me!" I shivered, trying not to remember the way I had felt when Herobrine looked directly at me. Like I couldn't move, like I was a chess pawn someone was controlling, waiting to be used as a sacrifice in some greater game of fate. It was total, complete fear. And fear, well... It scared me.

"... He could come back at any time and finish us off," I added.

Wingnuts sighed. "There must be a reason he took Moohicky," he said firmly but comfortingly. "And if he needed her so badly, he wouldn't have killed her."

I just sniffed and wiped my eyes. "She's lost Wing... I'm never gonna see her again... I can't survive without her..."

By this time Wingnuts must have gotten annoyed with my constant refusal to believe anything he said, and he shut up. Then he turned around and rummaged in his backpack. I looked over his shoulder and tried to see what he was doing. "Wing?" I asked, trying not to let my voice crack into more sobbing, "What... What're you looking for?"

He didn't reply but pulled a dark blue jersey out of the bag. Standing up, he walked around the campfire remains and handed me the jersey. Then he sat down on the grass and leaf-litter before me, a significant expression on his face.

I gingerly felt the jersey. It was my favourite and only one in Minecraftia. It had also been Moohicky's favourite. Whenever I wasn't wearing it, she was. I was astonished that Wingnuts had it. "You... but how... I thought the monsters burnt down the whole settlement! Where did you find that?"

Wingnuts winked. "It was lying on the ground before we escaped. I think a monster must have picked it up as they set fire to the buildings, then dropped it outside the settlement."

I was speechless. Moohicky had been the last person to wear this jersey, which meant... I subtly pulled the jersey up to my nose and breathed deep. The smell of Moohicky filled my lungs, and I felt a little better. I looked back at Wingnuts, who was trying to grin and grimace at the same time. "Creepy," he chuckled. I smiled weakly. I had always liked Moohicky's scent, no matter what anyone said...

"Thanks Wing," I said quietly. I looked at the sky once more, then said, "We should get some more sleep. It'll be dawn soon."

Wingnuts smiled and patted me on the shoulder. "Yeah, good idea Axle." He looked me in the eye then, and said, "We will find Moohicky. No matter what it takes." Then he turned and walked back over to his bed on the other side of the camp. I watched him lie down with his back to me.

"What'd we do without you Wing," I muttered to myself, before lying back down on my own bed with my back to the embers. I rolled the jersey up and hugged it tightly. At least I now had something of Moohicky's to remind me of her. I smiled weakly, but didn't shut my eyes.

I stared ahead at the short wall we had built around our tiny campsite. It was only wood, but it was the best we could do given the pitiful amount of resources we had escaped with.

I focused on a large beetle that was trying to bore a hole in the wooden fortification, and thought back to that night of terror. Had it really only been four days ago? It felt like a month we had been wandering aimlessly... However long it was, I couldn't forget what had happened. Herobrine's chilling laugh, the monsters all watching us without moving, Moohicky lying unconscious on the ground... I blinked back hot tears and forced my memory to continue the playback.

After Herobrine had disappeared, the monsters that surrounded us had been free to attack again. We had fought bravely, but we had barely escaped with our lives. Our weapons and armour had been all but shattered and worn down and smashed into useless fragments. We wouldn't have survived at all if one of Doomesdaye's TNT traps hadn't exposed a small cave opening. It had seemed clear and we had jumped in to it, the hordes pouring into the entrance behind us. Not bothering to place any torches, we ran through the darkness hoping desperately for a way back to the surface.

We were lucky. Wingnuts, Jay, Doomesdaye and myself all made it out, battered and broken but alive. Doomesdaye set off his last trap just inside the cave as we left, and the exit caved in, giving us a few minutes of a head start. And then we continued to run. We ran until we had found a mountain range and we had climbed over it, and on the other side was the forest we were now in. But we had nothing to call ourselves. We had all knocked some trees down to make the fort we were protected by, but other than the wood, we had nothing save a few almost useless pieces of armour and an iron pickaxe, some torches, and a little food. We were basically back where we started in Minecraftia.

I sighed. After Herobrine had taken Moohicky, Wingnuts and Doomesdaye had to literally pick me up and drag me away from the spot. I had been unable to move from sobbing. I felt bad for it now. I had jeopardized the lives of my friends by sitting and doing nothing. I was a bad person for the Grounded team...

I blinked and tried to stop thinking of the battle, and how idiotic I was. Then I heard Wingnuts' voice again.

"Oh Axle, one more thing. If Moohicky is still alive, she wouldn't want you to mourn her, would she? She'd want you to find wherever the hell she's been taken and rescue her!"

I wiped my eyes and smiled. Wingnuts was right. Even if she was dead, she would rather I carried on with life...

I decided then and there that I would rescue Moohickyalah and kill Herobrine, no matter what it took. And with that thought in my mind and the jersey in my arms, I slowly drifted off to sleep again.


	3. Chapter 2 - Storytelling

**A/N: Hey readers, sorry its been a little longer than I said, but I've been really sick since Friday and I'm still recovering. The doctor said I need the entire week off school! Man, the number of pills I've been taking... **

**Anyway, I'm home and I've managed to jump on long enough to give you guys the FIRST NEW CHAPTER! Now the story can really start! Hope you enjoy the new sub-plots as they come and go.**

**- AxleMC131**

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**Two – Storytelling**

**Wingnuts**

It was the following morning after my conversation with Axle. I worried about him, and I was doing my best to support him through his loss, because in reality I knew it was unlikely that Moohicky was alive. But at the same time, we had to keep moving through the world. The monsters were still following us, they hadn't stopped their onslaught. Even after we had gotten well out of range of them, the range where normal Minecraftia monsters gave up, they had continued mercilessly to march, slither and creep through the biomes on our trail. Of course though, these were Herobrine's hordes. They weren't fast, they were just relentless, and we had to carry on until we could find a suitable place for a fortification, and then... A final battle.

I shuddered. The lot of us were experienced warriors, but with Axle in his present depressed state and Jay still recovering from near-fatal wounds... On top of it all, we had lost practically everything we owned, including weapons and armour. We were almost defensless in the hostile world of Minecraftia.

Not a nice position to be in. We didn't know where exactly we were going, how long it would be before we got there, or whether we would even survive when we got there.

I shook myself back to reality and looked around. We were on the move again, it was about midday and the sun's rays were shining down through the canopy like infinite golden curtains. I shifted my unusually light backpack to the opposite shoulder and sighed. Little conversation was happening between us wanderers, but then again, there was little to say. Except for when there was a sudden biome change.

"Wing," I heard Axle grunt from a way off in front of me. "Plains."

I focused ahead and sure enough, I could see the dark, dim green of the forest open out into lush grasslands, with various herds of animals grazing calmly. I made a noise of acknowledgement in response. A few more metres of walking, and we found ourselves blinking in the sunlight. Doomesdaye glanced around. "It's not plains for long," he noticed, pointing, "The forest curves around and continues in front of us."

I could see this. We were at one end of the plains biome. I gazed to the left, off into the distant grassland, and a small grey shape rendered into my view. I blinked and tried to focus. "Hey guys, wait up," I said, stopping. "There's something out there in the plains..."

Jay looked into the grassland. Being the archer of the group, his eyes were far better at focusing long distance than the rest of us. He frowned.

"What is it Jay?" Doomesdaye inquired. Axle merely glanced up, then looked back at the ground.

Jay rubbed his bandaged side. "It looks like some kind of cottage." He bent over and coughed suddenly, and Doomesdaye whacked him on the back a few times. When he'd recovered he said, "Should we investigate, Wing?"

I thought for a moment. "Yeah, I reckon we could. Hey, if there's anyone there they might be able to help us."

"Against Herobrine's hordes?" Axle muttered under his breath. "Not a chance..." I ignored him for the moment.

"We do need supplies pretty drastically," Doomesdaye reminded me, gripping the straps on his almost empty backpack. "At this stage, anything help will be welcome."

Jay stared at the distant structure a moment longer. "Can't hurt to look around it I guess. Besides, one house could mean a settlement further on."

I nodded in agreement. "True, although we want to avoid large groups of people as much as possible. We can't go trailing His hordes through every town we come across..." I shuddered at the thought of the army behind us tearing through an innocent town in our wake. "Let's just be cautious about where we go," I finished. Doomesdaye nodded in agreement.

"Well, let's head off."

We wandered across the grassy plain for about five minutes, watching as the structure grew larger and larger in our render. It was indeed a small cottage of sorts, a narrow lower story made of rough stone bricks and mortar, while the even smaller upper floor was constructed of wood, with a thatched roof. The top floor was open to the outside, with most of the walls made of clear glass, giving a good view all around the biome. The ground floor had pretty little stained glass windows embedded in the stone though.

As we got closer I heard what sounded like a kettle whistling. The noise went on for about ten seconds, before it suddenly stopped. We were right outside the building by now, and through the little window in the front door I could make out a figure bustling about with what must've been a kettle and a teapot. I exchanged a glance with Doomesdaye, shrugged, then knocked on the door.

There was a grunt of surprise from inside, and a few seconds later the door opened. I stood facing a small man holding a pretty copper kettle in one hand, and a tea-towel in the other. He looked me and the others up and down, taking in our ragged clothes and armour and scarred faces. "Can I help ye?" he finally asked in a rustic dialect.

"Who is it Thero?" a second voice came from inside. Looking further in, I could see that there was another man, a little younger looking, sitting at a table with a cup of tea and an inquisitive expression on his face. The older man looked over his shoulder at him.

"I'm 'bout to find that out Silvor, hopefully," he said turning back to us. "Anyways, who are ye again?"

I cleared my throat. "My name's Wingnuts. We, um..." I glanced at the rest of us again. We didn't make a particularly good impression. "We're refugees, I suppose you could say," I finished. I gave the man at the door a weak smile. He frowned at me, his eyes straying to Jay's bandages.

"Yer got a hurt warrior there?"

I blinked. "How do you know we're warriors?"

The man laughed and his eyes twinkled. "I just know these things. Well, feel free to come in if yer hungry. Sit your friend down on the couch there and I'll make some more tea." The man hurried back inside. "'s okay Silvor, they's warriors. Seem friendly enough."

**Jay**

I hesitantly followed the others in, closing the door behind me. The bottom floor seemed to be made of just one room. Along one wall ran a small kitchen bench with a furnace at one end. Opposite it, an overstuffed flowery sofa contrasted with the simple blue-painted walls from its position beside a narrow staircase. A round wooden table occupied the centre of the room, surrounded by three or four chairs. One of them was filled by the younger man, Silvor, who gazed at us in interest as we trooped in.

Everything about the house was comforting and cosy. There was even a little sign reading "Home Sweet Home" hanging over the furnace.

Moving over to the sofa, I sat down and watched the older man, Thero, prepare another pot of tea for us. "So, where'd ye come from, where're yer goin'?" Thero asked with his back to us.

"We lived in a place called Groundedville," Wingnuts answered, sitting in one of the chairs. "Up until about a week ago that is." He stared at the table solemnly.

"Oh?" Silvor asked, "What happened? Bandits?"

Doomesdaye shook his head. "Worse."

"Him."

Silvor and Thero stared at Axle. Then Thero spoke up, "When you say Him... You don't mean..." he trailed off.

"Surely not," Silvor added.

"... Herobrine." I finished.

Thero gaped. "Not possible," he muttered, then turned back to the bench.

"Possible," Doomesdaye amended. "In fact, certainty."

"No," Silvor said, "If that Demon planned to try anything against Minecraftia, Notch would stop him in his tracks before he could so much as lift his pinkie finger!"

"Then why are we being hunted by an army of monsters that never give up?" I said, getting slightly frustrated.

"How did everyday Minecraft monsters burn our settlement to the ground?" Wingnuts added in annoyance.

"Why is Moohickyalah gone!?"

Everyone turned to stare at Axle. He froze, then ran outside, slamming the door behind him. There came the sound of uncontrollable weeping from behind it.


	4. Chapter 3 - Convincing Commoners

**A/N: Hey readers, here's the next chapter as promised... This time, the Grounded team convince Thero and Silvor to help them. **

**Three – Convincing Commoners**

**Doomesdaye**

I glared at the two men. If His hordes had suddenly broken through the walls and started attacking us at that moment, I swear I would've done nothing but say "I told you so!"

As it happened, the hordes were nowhere to be seen and I continued to glare at the men.

After a while, Thero cleared his throat. "Ahem, alrighty then. So let's get things straight. Ye were all living happily in this village of yours, Groundedville, then ye were attacked by an army of monsters that acted too cleverly to be normal monsters. Am I right so far?"

Wingnuts nodded, cooling down and sitting back in his seat. In the frustration, him and I had both stood up. Thero continued.

"Then this thing yer friend said, Moohickyalah was it? That's gone missin', and you think it was Him that took it?"

"Yes," Jay said.

"Moohickyalah is Axle's partner," I explained. "One minute we were all there fighting for a lives, the next moment He appeared. We tried to attack him, but there was an explosion..." I frowned, not wanting to continue

"And when we could see again," Wingnuts continued, "Herobrine was gone. So was Moohickyalah."

"Okay, who's Axle again?"

I jerked my thumb in the direction of the sobbing drifting through the door.

"Ah, yer tearful friend. Well. I can see why he would be..." Thero's eyes gained a misty quality and stayed fixated on the teapot. He seemed to be thinking hard. "And they're still after yer?"

Wingnuts nodded again. "Last time we checked, they were barely a day behind us. They might be slower than us on foot, but they never stop. Ever."

"Hang on, they're tracking you? Right up to here?" Silvor exclaimed.

Thero frowned. "I just hope they don't smash down my house!" He looked around the walls. Then shaking his head, he began to pour cups of tea. "Dear Notch help you four..."

I grunted in return. "He hasn't done a lot so far. I'm going to check on Axle," I added to Jay and Wingnuts, before standing up.

**Jay**

"Here, bring him this," Thero said, handing Doomesdaye a cup of tea on a saucer for himself and one for Axle. He added a cookie to each saucer, then handed Wingntus and I a cup each also. Doomesdaye bowed his head in thanks and pushed the door open. It swung shut behind him.

Thero sat down in the chair Doomesdaye had vacated, stroking his beard. "You only answered one of my earlier questions," he said suddenly. "I also asked where you were going?"

Wingnuts and I exchanged glances. "We... We really don't know," I admitted. "We've just been trying to run for the past week, hoping to find some resources somewhere, maybe somewhere to make a final stand." I took a sip from the teacup, and sighed happily as the warm liquid trickled down my throat. I hadn't drunk proper tea in Minecraftia in a while.

"Well we can't help you on the 'final stand' area of things," Silvor said, frowning, "but I'm a blacksmith's apprentice. If you need some weapons or tools I could probably arrange it. What sort of stuff do you need?"

"Anything. But where do you work?"

"Questions, questions!" Thero interrupted. "Let's start with the ole' formalities. I'm Elefthero Pouli. Name's Greek in origin, no idea how I came to have it. I live in this 'ere cottage by meself, but Silvor here comes round every now and again for tea and a chat. Silvor?"

The younger man beamed at me and Wingnuts. "I'm Silvor Fox," he said, standing and bowing. "I live and work in the nearby town of Rivervale, not thirty chunks thataways." He waved his arm in the direction the plains biome continued in. "Nice enough place, but I think if you lot are wanting help, we're not a good place to come to. Population barely over forty people, mostly farmers."

"Agreed," Thero continued. "I don't wanna see that town in ruins. We hope ye don't mind if we say that we don't, uhh..." He looked away.

"You don't want us going near the town itself?" I suggested. I bit off a piece of my cookie. "That's fine. Honestly, we don't want any innocent people hurt. We understand completely."

Thero breathed. "Thank ye. Yer a good lot. Now, onto the subject of how we _can_ help, I reckon that Silvor and I can get ye a coupla resources from Rivervale before sundown?"

"How does an iron sword each sound?" Silvor recommended. "On the house."

Wingnuts beamed. "Wow, that'd be amazing if you two could do that for us! But I think our injured friend here would prefer a bow and arrows if you have any available?" He gestured at me on "Injured friend".

"I'll see," Silvor said.

Thero glanced at me. "Heavens, ye should introduce yerselves to us!"

I chuckled, finally feeling comfortable around these two. "I'm Jay."

"Wingnuts," said Wingnuts. "Axle out there is the one who lost Moohickyalah, his girlfriend."

"And your friend with the pickaxe?"

"That's Doomesdaye," Wingnuts answered, taking a sip of his tea. "And that's basically us. We're all warriors, but we know how to smith, craft, and farm and all that. We've just all grown up being warriors."

"Fair enough," Silvor said. "Men of all trades, almost."

"Except knitting," Wingnuts added suddenly. "Doomesdaye tried learning to knit once. It was very messy."

Thero grinned. "I like yer group of friends. Yer a good bunch o' people, it's a shame such a disaster had to happen to ye." He sighed. "Well, I wish yer good luck. Believe me, I'd help if we could, but there's not a lot Rivervale can do, let alone us two. I don't reckon we should even tell 'em at the town. It'd just cause a ruckus, y'know?"

Wingnuts nodded. "Understood. Like we said, we don't want to endanger innocent bystanders if we can avoid it. Best keep 'us' quiet," he added, glancing at the door. I could hear Doomesdaye and Axle talking quietly, but I couldn't make out the words.

Suddenly a pain shot through my bandaged side. I winced, keeling over slowly on the sofa. Thero gave me a look of shock. "Ye right Jay?"

I nodded silently. The pains came and went. After all, I'd been injured for almost a week, constantly on the move, and I didn't even know how bad it was. It still tingled most of the time though. Moohicky had been the group's best healer, and with her and our belongings gone, the best the others had been able to do for me was bandage me up with loose clothes and shoelaces. Thero stood up and knelt down beside me. "May I?"

"Yeah," I said. The pain had already faded.

Silvor looked a little squeamish as Thero peeled back my bandages. "Ah," he said, "'s only a stab. Hasn't been infected or anything, yer lucky there." He peered closer. "Hang on." Without warning he pressed down on my ribs and another wave of pain passed through me.

"Ahh!" I gasped.

"Hmm," Thero said, "Looks like whatever hit yer, it nicked yer ribs and chipped the bone. It's healing well, but it'll be sore for a while longer. There's not a lot I can do about it but give ye fresh bandages."

He noticed Wingnuts staring at him. "How come you know so much medical stuff?"

Thero stood up. "My mother was a healer. Learned a few things from her before she died. Not much though, just a little bit of recognition of symptoms, how to cure a couple of basic sicknesses. That sorta stuff."

"Hey Thero," Silvor piped up, "You still got that painkiller brew? Made from cactus sap and honey or something?"

Thero glanced up. "Hey yeah! I still got a jar o' that. You wait here Jay," he said, then quickly went upstairs. He returned shortly with a tall bottle of greenish syrup, which he poured a little onto a spoon with. "Here, try a spoonful o' this." He held the syrup out to me. Hesitantly I sat up and put the spoon in my mouth.

The taste wasn't actually bad. It tasted a little like broccoli, but... sweeter. And there was a faint hint of something alcoholic in it too. I swallowed.

"That should take away the worst of the pain," Thero said. He pulled a smaller jar off a shelf and siphoned a little from the bottle into it. Capping it tightly, he handed it to Wingnuts. "Ye may as well take some with ye. Ye never know when yer might need some."

"Thank you Thero," Wingnuts said graciously. He pocketed the jar. I sat up, already feeling a little less sore.

"No problem," Thero replied. "Happy to be able to help a friend." He gave me a wink and I smiled back, taking another slurp of tea.

Doomesdaye and Axle walked in. Axle sniffed and looked at the floor, but he seemed better than earlier. The miner sat him down in the free chair, then put his teacup down on the table.

Thero looked to Silvor. "Right Silvor, I reckon you should head into town and grab these four a bunch o' blades, whatd'ya say?"

"Very well," Silvor replied. He stood up and went over to the door. "I'll be back in about an hour if I can fix a deal with my master. I'm sure he'll understand. I'll tell him you were raided by bandits and have nothing to call your own. Catch you later!" He left, slamming the door behind him.

Thero sat back in his chair. "Ah, he's a good 'un Silvor is. A little ambitious at times, but a good man."

Wingnuts glanced at Axle. "You okay there?"

Axle looked up at the concerned warrior. He nodded, then looked back down again. He had that blue jersey of his wrapped tightly in his arms. _Well, let him have it. If it keeps him sane, it's good enough for us._ I took another gulp of tea and allowed myself to relax.


	5. Chapter 4 - New Toys

**A/N - Next chapter up a day earlier than I was going to upload it. Ah well, I got bored. There's a ton of original chapters I still have to upload next, so it doesn't really matter. ;P Anyway, in this chapter the Grounded team get kitted out with new swords.**

**Four – New Toys**

**Wingnuts**

For about forty minutes we sat talking with Thero, explaining the situation further while he told us about his own life. He'd come from Rivervale but after his mother had died he had chosen to live alone. Silvor was actually his cousin (once removed), which was why he came and visited, but not many other people did.

Thero had just laid out a small lunch of bread and cheeses, when there was a knock at the door and Silvor walked in with a satchel over his shoulder and a parcel under his arm. "Well," he observed, "I'm just in time!" He nabbed a slice of bread and a piece of creamy cheese, while placing the long leather parcel on the table in front of him. He gestured to the package. "There y'are, I'm afraid I couldn't find anyone willing to spare a bow an' arrows though," he apologized to Jay.

Jay waved it off. "I'll survive."

Silvor nodded and unwrapped the package. Four simple iron blades lay side by side across the table. I picked the nearest one up and inspected it.

"They're nothing special," Silvor admitted. "My master was happy to help, certainly, but he didn't want to part with four of his best blades."

Doomesdaye waved it off. "It's nothing, these are fine blades." And in reality they were, for being simple.

The long, straight double-edge tapered to a sharp point at the tip, with a shallow blood channel down the centre. At the base, the hilt was crafted from firm leather, an iron triangle at each end of the guard. At the bottom of the hilt, the leather grip gave way to a handsome pommel, a metal chamber containing what looked like a semiprecious stone.

Jay stared at the stone. "I thought these were simple blades? What's with the gemstone?"

Silvor winked. "It's just for looks. They aren't real stones, they're just stained glass. They're each different colours, I thought you four could fight over which ones you wanted so you could tell your swords apart."

Axle looked over the swords, then picked up one with a lime green 'gem'. The one I had was deep, blood red in colour. I grinned.

Jay reached over for the one at the back, with a plain white stone. Doomesdaye grabbed the last one, a pale blue shade in the pommel.

"There's also an engraving at the base of each blade," Silvor added. "I thought that you might like it." Sure enough, scrawled into the blade just above the hilt were the letters "MCG".

I looked questioningly at the blacksmith's apprentice. "Why MCG?"

Silvor shrugged. "It was the best I could come up with. MC for Minecraftia, and G for Groundedville. In honour of your old home."

We each gazed at our new swords in happiness. "Wow," Axle said "These are beautiful. Thank you so much Silvor!"

"Not a problem," the blacksmith's apprentice replied grinning. "Oh, and I thought you might need some of this too." He laid the satchel on the table on the now empty package. "You all looked a little undernourished, so I gathered you some food. Should be provisions for three or four days for you four."

I nodded appreciatively. "Thanks heaps Silvor. We should probably leave you and Rivervale in peace then, before His hordes catch us up..." I stood up and pushed my plate away from me.

Thero nodded understandingly. "Very well, if you must leave you must leave." He walked around the table and shook each of our hands in turn. "It has been a pleasure meeting you four, and I hope you survive so I may meet you again one day." He smiled, and that strange twinkle came into his eyes again as he shook my hand. "I bid you all good luck and god speed in your survival."

I bowed slightly before him and Silvor. "Thank you two both for your hospitality, and mostly your understanding. If we ever meet again we are indebted to you."

This came out somewhat instinctively. I smiled as I said it, knowing it was true. These people had helped us and supported us when they could've simply shut their door and ignored our troubles completely. I shook Silvor's hand also, then sheathed the new sword into my belt.

"Farewell Wingnuts, Jay, Doomesdaye and Axle," Thero said. "Notch bless you." And with that I opened the door and stepped out into the afternoon sun.

**Doomesdaye**

Walking out the door after Wingnuts, I said one more "thank you" to the two men, then exited the little house carrying the satchel of food Silvor had provided. The bright sun greeted us, lighting our path as we headed back towards the forest, covering our own tracks. As we approached the first trees I turned around and gave the distant house a final look. Then the chunks unloaded and it disappeared from my render. I sighed, knowing that although we had been helped, we were alone once more.

I shrugged and shifted the satchel. We had probably lost a lot of ground ahead of the hordes, but I estimated that if we moved quickly, they would soon fall behind. Hopefully though, they would follow our fresher trail into the forest rather than heading up to Thero's house.

Trees surrounded us as we crunched through the leaf-litter. Green and brown, green and brown. I stopped counting them and focused on my feet. We walked in silence until late evening, with Axle occasionally pulling out his new sword and twirling it around, admiring the folded steel blade and the lime green 'gem'. I wondered why he was so amazed by it. Silvor had been right; nice as the blades were, they were very simple. Perhaps he was using the sword to distract him from the thought of Herobrine's army hot on our tail, or the fact that Moohicky was gone. Or both. I couldn't blame him really.

With the light fading from the sky, Wingnuts stopped suddenly. "I reckon this is a good place for a campsite," he said. We had reached a small clearing, tree branches arching over it leaving only a small hole in the canopy letting light down. Without further ado, Wingnuts pulled out a stack of wooden planks and began setting down in a short wall around the edge of the grove. I trooped into the centre, dropping the food satchel on the ground, then kneeled down to light a campfire.

Jay looked up at the sky. "Least it's not raining. It's a clear sky."

Axle grunted in response, glancing once at the stars, before pulling out his own stack of planks and helping Wingnuts build. Jay himself laid down four makeshift beds, then lay down upon his one, the white sword at his side. "I say we get to sleep as soon as possible, be up at dawn to keep walking," I said to Wingnuts.

"Was what I had in mind," he replied, fitting the last piece of wood and standing back to admire his handiwork. Axle stuck the remaining planks back into his bag, then sat down on his own bed, still examining the green sword.

Striking a piece of flint down the head of my pickaxe, I sparked the dry grasses I had laid down as tinder, which quickly caught fire. Placing a few sticks over the tinder, then a log or two, the campfire was soon stretching light into the very corners of the campsite.

"Should we see what provisions Silvor found for us?" Wingnuts suggested, nodding at the satchel behind me.

"Yeah," Jay agreed. "Would be a good idea, take stock of what we have."

"Alright, let's have a looksey," I said, untying the satchel and opening it. Wingnuts came over to inspect the contents with me.

"Well, there's a lot of bread for a start," Wingnuts observed. He reached in and pulled out several loaves of the stuff. Beneath the bread were some less common foodstuffs, apples and slices of melon. There was even a small box of potatoes and carrots. Further in I dug out a container of dried, salted meat.

"That it? Jay asked, looking at the food we were pulling out and placing beside us. "That is quite a lot."

Axle gazed at the food. "Do we want to sample some for dinner now? Doomesdaye's got a fire going after all."

"Sure," Wingnuts said. "Then we should sleep. Tomorrow we can sort the food out evenly between us."

"Hey, what's this?" I asked suddenly. At the very bottom of the bag was a small, square wooden box. I pulled it out and opened the lid.

Wingnuts licked his lips. "A cake? He gave us a cake? Wow, I really like Silvor now."

"Can we eat it?" Axle asked eagerly. I sighed.

"Fine," Wingnuts said, chuckling. "Just a bit. We can toast some of this bread too."


	6. Chapter 5 - Left for Dead

**A/N - Hey guys, I'm back again with another exciting chapter for you all! It's a little late as the charger for my laptop died and we had to get a new one (it arrived about an hour ago, lol!), but I'm on again and uploading. Enjoy this suspenseful chapter as the Grounded team is set upon by bandits. Dun dun dun!**

* * *

**Five – Left for Dead**

**Wingnuts**

Soon our bellies were much happier, full of flame-grilled toast and chocolate cake. Leaving the fire burning down in the centre of the circle, I stretched and yawned. "Time to go to sleep," I suggested. "Wanna be up early to keep moving."

Jay looked at the sky. It was completely dark except for the stars; it was a new moon. "Yeah. Night guys." He turned over and was asleep instantly a far as I could tell. Standing up, I walked over to my own bed next to Axle. He seemed to already be asleep, clutching the handle of his new sword tightly. I sighed and shook my head. He reminded me of a small child clutching a soft toy. His loss had really made an impact on him...

Doomesdaye placed his backpack under his head like a pillow and lay down on his back, staring at the canopy. "Notch, it's good to know there are still nice people like that in the world."

I mumbled in response. "Yeah. Good people are nice." I relaxed on the hard mattress, slightly uncomfortable but the tiredness of only a couple of hours sleep a night for nearly a week overtook me. My eyes closed, and the warmth of the fire carried me off to darkness.

* * *

**Axle**

A feeling woke me. I kept my eyes closed, but realized what the strange feeling was.

Something was trying to slowly pull the sword out of my grip!

I froze. I could hear heavy breathing from right next to me. I was awake instantly. I opened my left eye a slit, seeing what was happening. I couldn't make out much, the campfire had burned down to embers, but I could see that there was a figure right in front of my face. I instinctively tightened my grip on the sword, then realized that was a bad idea.

Someone whispered. "This one's waking up... Better make this quick..."

There came a gruff reply from the other side of the camp. "Got their food... Grab that kid's sword and we'll go..." There was a sound of something being dragged across the ground.

Oh crap. I slid my tongue between my teeth. The person over me was still tugging at my sword. Waiting for one more moment, I suddenly wrenched the sword back and up. There was a yell from the figure standing over me and I felt the sword blade connect with human flesh. The person staggered to the side, and I yelled an alarm.

"Bandits! Bandits in the camp!" And everything went a little nuts. In the dark, I could see everyone else leap up. In the confusion, I stood and tripped over the figure I had hit with my sword. Someone grabbed my leg and I swung the sword down on their arm. I hit them with the flat of the blade, and they let go accompanied by a satisfying cry of pain. Suddenly, there was light. Doomesdaye had grabbed a torch and stuck it in the embers of the fire until it lit. The campsite was suddenly illuminated in a soft glow, and I could see what had happened. The bandit who had been trying to steal my sword was lying on the ground cradling their thigh and whimpering, while Wingnuts had drawn his own sword and was pointing the tip of it at the other bandit's neck. He had been trying to drag away the satchel of food, but was now backed up against the camp wall. Wingnuts stared at him with pure anger in his eyes. Jay had stood up, but had realized that his sword was lying on the ground next to the second bandit. Doomesdaye held the torch over my bandit.

Everyone was silent for a good twenty seconds except for the painful whining of the injured bandit. Then Wingnuts spoke in his most commanding tone. "Who are you? What right do you think you have to just take anything from innocent travelers?"

The bandit at his sword point gulped, and glanced around, as if looking for a way to escape, but there was none. Jay had reached down and grabbed his sword, and Doomesdaye had pulled his pickaxe out and was keeping an eye on each bandit. I raised my sword and held it at the other bandit's throat, watching him closely.

"We... We're just helpless peasants!" Wingnuts' bandit spluttered. "We th-thought that you w-wouldn't mind if w-we just... B-borrowed a little f-food..."

"Helpless peasants?" Doomesdaye sneered. "You Bandits make me sick. You were going to take our entire food supply, and half of our weapons."

I nodded, a feeling of cold rage growing inside me. "I'll tell you now I'm definitely not in a forgiving mood. Do you realize what we've been through in the past week!?" I didn't know why I was so angry suddenly. Maybe the bandits were just a chance to vent my emotions from the last week since we lost our homes. But either way, Wingnuts wasn't stopping me, so vent I was going to.

I took a breath. The others seemed to have backed off a little to let me yell. "In the last week we've had our homes burnt down, my girlfriend kidnapped and most likely murdered, our lives destroyed, and we've been wandering through forest for days on about an hour of sleep each night and half a loaf of bread for food each day! And on top of that all, we've got Herobrine's army less than a day behind us by my estimate! And now what do we get? Bandits!" I spat at the bandit on the floor, who had stopped whimpering and was just staring at me in fear. "Filthy bandits who think they'll just steal the possessions of anyone they run into and it'll all be fine. Well, sorry mates, I don't know how many people you've looted before this night, but it will be your last!"

The standing bandit coughed. "You're... Y-you're going to k-kill us?"

"Can you give us a good reason not to?"

There was a beat. I glanced at Wingnuts. He gave me a look as if to say, "It's your party Axle."

I looked back at the bandit who had spoken and responded, very quietly. "No. No we aren't going to kill you. We're just going to tie you up and leave you to see what it's like to be trapped while His hordes tear up our wake."

"B-but-" the bandit stammered, "Y-you must be l-lying! It isn't p-possible for H-H-Hero-b-brine to be here! N-Notch would stop him for anything!"

"Don't believe us?" Doomesdaye cut in. "Well. You'll see." He pulled the long strap from the food bag and handed it to me. I jerked my sword, ushering the two badits together back to back, and began to tie them up, legs first, then I sat them down and tied their arms together with the bands that had been keeping the boxes shut in the bag.

"That'll do it," Wingnuts said. "Now you two sit here and think on your actions." He turned to me and Doomesdaye. "We should pack up and go. It's past midnight."

"Gotcha," I replied, still breathing hard. I began breaking down and picking up the wooden wall, all the while keeping my eyes on the bandits. They watched us in fear as we tidied up for about five minutes, until the only trace of our campsite was a blackened patch in the middle of the clearing. The bandits still sat on the ground in fright as we began to leave. I turned and wished them one last threat. "Oh by the way. If you do manage to break free and follow us and try to loot us again, let me tell you that we'll be doing far worse than leaving you to Herobrine's hordes. I promise you." Then, as an afterthought I stuck my sword in the ground and scratched out a quick "MCG" in the dirt, before following the others into the darkness of the forest, the anger finally leaving me to be filled by a feeling of emptiness. _Oh I wish you were here Moohicky..._


	7. Chapter 6 - The Kidnapped Ones

**A/N - Hey guys, new chapter at last. I should probably say that the real Moohickyalah helped me with this chapter. She had the original perspective idea, and I just edited it to suit the rest of the story. So, we now get Moohicky's point of view! Enjoy!**

* * *

**Six – The Kidnapped Ones**

**Moohickyalah**

The pain was like I had never felt before. I could feel the blood leaving me. How could I have let my guard down? I was sure I was a goner. Through the haze of my pain, I could hear Axle's voice say my name. _Axle my love! _I yelled in my mind, unable to speak, _I wish I could talk to you, see you, I'm slipping away, don't leave me!_

I was battling myself not to lose consciousness but it was threatening to take me. I could sense someone over me. As my vision clouded over I could see a pair of glowing, white eyes staring down at me, and the glittering flash of a silver sword. I felt a last spike of intense pain in my middle, but through it I saw one last picture of my boyfriend. My love, Axle, smiling at me, holding a rose out for me. Then everything went black.

* * *

The first thing I felt was warmth. I wriggled subconsciously, trying to get comfortable, but a horrible pain shot through my entire body and I gasped aloud. I opened my eyes and blinked, but I was in near darkness.

Very slowly, I sat up and tried to make out my surroundings. After my eyes adjusted to the dark, I could see I was in a bed in a large prison-like room I didn't recognize. The filthy mattress I was lying on was threadbare and there seemed to be a second bed in the opposite corner. The walls and ceiling of the "cell" were made of roughly placed cobblestones, but the floor... Was that Nether Brick? I reached my hand down. The dark maroon paving stones beneath me were very warm to the touch. It was definitely Nether brick.

Oh crap. That could only mean one thing...

I was in the Nether. Minecraft Hell.

Without warning a lamp came on in the ceiling, and I was forced to wince as my eyes were blinded by the sudden light change. I heard the sound of pistons, and a portion of the far wall sank down into the floor, revealing a stairwell. Before I could do anything, a girl who looked about my age fell to the bottom of the stairs, landing on the floor of the room. _Was she pushed down the stairs? _ I thought, as the wall returned to its original solid state. I blinked and watched cautiously as the girl pushed herself upright and staggered blearily over to the other bed. Flopping down upon the mattress, the girl looked up at me for the first time. She had dark eyes and black hair that fell to her neck. She was wearing a mucky blue hoodie with a couple of tears in it and a pair of black leggings. I stared at her with a frightened look on my face. The new girl however just looked exhausted and slightly pissed off.

She opened her mouth and coughed, then said flatly, "Ah. So you've arrived."

I raised an eyebrow but didn't reply.

The girl sat up and uselessly attempted to dust herself off. After a couple of seconds, she continued. "He said you would be joining us shortly. Guess he found you at last."

I frowned. "Who is... He?" I ventured to reply.

"Herobrine."

I stared. "You're kidding..."

The girl looked up at me with sorrow in her eyes. "No. Herobrine has captured you and I. We are slaves to him."

Fear enveloped my body again. "Why?" I asked shakily, "What does he want us for?"

A mere shrug preceded the monotonous reply. "I've no clue. Something about being needed for some ceremony some time from now. The demon probably plans to take over Minecraftia." Another shrug.

I nodded slowly. "I see." I tried to calm myself down. At least I was alive...

I looked up again. "Who are you anyway?"

The girl made a weak smile. "Krystal. Krystal Minus-One."

I cocked my head. "Minus-One?"

"I don't know either, don't worry. Guess it makes me unique though, so I never complain."

"Huh," I replied. "Fair enough. Mind if I call you Minus?"

"Sure. Herobrine just calls me Slavegirl. Anything's better than that." The girl looked at the wall section that concealed the stairs. "What's your name?"

"Moohicky," I replied. "Short for Moohickyalah, but I'm normally Moohicky."

"Kay," Krystal replied shortly. "Nice to have someone to talk to other than His guards." She looked down at the floor, then reached up to her neck. She pulled a necklace out from under her hoodie, and held the charm on the end of it tightly in her hand.

"What's that, Minus?" I inquired of the necklace.

"Oh, this?" She looked up at me, smiling weakly again. "My only possession." Krystal held it up for me to see. It was a beautiful silver feather on a plain string. "My boyfriend gave it to me many years ago. He has one too. It's just a cute thing we had together..." She looked back at the floor again and tucked the feather back down her top, hiding it from view.

I smiled at the thought of that. Seemed slightly reminiscent of Axle and myself... I felt hot tears come to my eyes as I remembered my boyfriend, the love of my life who I had been taken from. I wiped my eyes and sniffed.

Krystal frowned at me. "You okay?"

I nodded. "Just... Y'know, just missing someone..."

Krystal nodded. "Believe me, I know how you feel. Here." She put her hand into her pocket and pulled out a slightly squashed, red rose.

My mouth dropped open. It was the same rose that Axle had given me the day before that battle. The day before I had been captured... But how had it survived to here? "How do you have that!?" I demanded.

"I managed to take it from the guards who took all your items when He brought you in. Zombie pigmen are even stupider than normal zombies in case you didn't know." Krystal handed me the rose, and I held it tight to my heart. It still smelt slightly. "They basically fought over your equipment and I saw the rose on the floor. Figured it might've been important to you, so I kept it safe."

I looked up at Krystal. There were tears of happiness in my eyes. And then, ignoring the pain that wracked my body, I leaped up and hugged Krystal tightly. She seemed surprised at first, but then hugged me back.

"I really hope your boyfriend comes to save you Minus," I whispered in her ear. "You deserve to be rescued."

"Well, I wish yours comes to save you Moohicky," she replied, finally smiling properly.


	8. Chapter 7 - Chaos in the Woods

**Seven – Chaos in the Woods**

**Doomesdaye**

Through a void of dreamless sleep, my subconscious mind heard a twig snap.

I awoke with a start. The clouds had all but disappeared, revealing a few dim stars, and the sky was the dark blue of pre-dawn. I slowly sat up and looked around the camp. My friends were all still asleep and unmoving. Frowning, I closed my eyes and listened to the chilly morning air, as yet untainted by bird calls…

… Footsteps!

I stood up and crept over to the two-block high wooden wall that protected the camp from monsters during the night. Standing by one part of the wall, I grabbed the top of the wall and gently pulled it down and back. After a few seconds of struggling, the top plank folded down and broke away from the wall. I picked it up and clambered through the gap I had made, then turned around and placed the plank back, filling the gap again as if nothing had changed.

I turned and looked into the forest, listening again for the low crunching of leaves and twigs under cautious foot. It was coming from a slightly north-westerly direction to our campsite. I pulled my pickaxe, my favoured weapon, out of my belt and made my way silently towards the sound. Even though the light was just beginning to enter the new day, it had not yet reached down through the forest canopy, and the forest floor was almost invisible. However, moving slowly and using the tree trunks to find my way, I crept towards the sound.

When I was almost on top of the footsteps, they suddenly stopped. I stopped too, and held my breath. Tightening my grip on my pick, I peered around the next tree, leaning on the rough bark.

Crouching down with his back to me was a man wearing what appeared to be a torn, dirty black trench coat. I couldn't see much more of him in the darkness. I was about to make myself known and demand who this man was, when the piece of bark I was holding myself steady on, suddenly broke away from the tree with a low crack.

I fell sideways. The man spun and, in one smooth move, dropped the mushrooms he had been collecting to the ground, pulled an iron axe out of his belt and hurled it in my general direction. I desperately flung my pickaxe hand out to balance myself, and as I did so I felt the axe head smack into that of the pick's. My wrist shuddered and I lost my grip on the pick shaft. I dropped it, the pain shooting up my arm, and dove to the ground. I looked up to see the man staring at me with a look of surprise on his face. "Who are you?" he demanded in a gruff voice, "What are you doing here in the forest?"

I stood up, undaunted by the stranger's forceful tone. "I heard you passing, and decided to investigate. That's all."

He hesitated then pulled something from his belt. He placed it on the ground, and I heard the click of a flint and steel. I saw the spark leap from the device and in an instant, the crystalline block he had placed was alight. It could only have been Minecraftia's own eternal fire rock, Netherrak.

Across the flames, the man looked me up and down. I also took a moment to get a good look at him. His grimy hair gave the impression that it had once been black and slick, but both his eyes contrasted against it as a fiery gold colour. His belt buckle took the form of a silver Blaze, and he wore a pair of dark grey combat boots. Around his neck was a string, with a skillfully crafted metal feather hanging from it.

I narrowed my eyes at the Blaze buckle. "You a supporter of Herobrine?" I demanded.

The man flinched, and he seemed to adopt a battle stance at the name. "Never!" he growled in reply, "I wouldn't ever support that foul bastard of a demon!" The stranger spat upon the ground. "Why would you think of me that way?"

I put my hands up in defense. "I'm sorry, your belt buckle made me curious." The man raised an eyebrow, but seemed to accept this as a reasonable truth.

He glanced over at the pick I had dropped. "What about you, miner?" he said with a sneer.

I bristled in a similar way to how he had. "No. Not ever. I'd rather die than support him. The same with my friends."

"There are more of you?"

I froze. That was a mistake on my behalf, letting slip that I wasn't alone. But if this man wasn't a supporter of the Demi-god, and he wasn't a bandit, he could probably be trusted. I forced myself to relax and countered his question. "What's your name?"

"Chaos," the stranger replied after a short pause. "Just Chaos."

_Odd name_, I thought_, but I've heard odder_. I stuck out my hand, and Chaos shook it. "I'm Doomesdaye," I replied. "And yes, there are more of us. You live around here?"

Chaos shook his head. "My home was destroyed several weeks ago." He said this hesitantly, as if what he was telling me was genuine, but he was leaving some other truths out.

I raised my eyebrows in surprise. "We lost our home too. Care to join us? We're wandering."

"Where to?" Chaos raised his head a little in interest.

I shrugged. "Wherever we end up," I answered hopelessly. "Herobrine… He took something from us and left a horde of monsters on our trail."

Without warning, Chaos let out a strangled sob and looked away. I frowned. "You okay?"

He recovered and looked back at me after a few seconds, and I could see a new light in his eyes. A light of determination. He stood up taller and replied, "Herobrine took something from me too. It was him who destroyed my home. Yes, I'll join you. That bastard of a Demon will pay."


	9. Chapter 8 - Angel's Call

**A/N - Hey all you readers! Just to let you know that although this is only chapter 8, I'm currently working on chapter 13 and so on. So don't be afraid I'm getting behind. :P You never know though, I frequently get writer's block... We'll see.**

**Anyway, in this episode - ahem, CHAPTER - the Grounded team face the horrors of His hordes once more. Will they get out alive again!? Read on to find out... XD**

* * *

**Eight – Angel's Call**

**Axle**

"Guys? Hey guys, wake up, you need to meet someone!"

I woke to the sound of Doomesdaye's voice. The sky was a shade or two lighter than black, but I could just make out Doomesdaye breaking his way into our camp, followed by a stranger. I stood up out of my bed and looked at the newcomer in confusion.

"Eh? Who?" Wingnuts asked rubbing sleep out of his eyes. He saw the stranger and raised his eyebrows.

"Who's this?" Jay demanded tiredly. "Is he a bandit?"

"No no," Doomesdaye assured us, "He's not. Guys, this is Chaos. He's a warrior far as I can tell."

Wingnuts narrowed his eyes. "Chaos? What brings you to our team?"

The man called Chaos spoke in a low gravelly voice. "I would like to join your group. I have heard that you... Had something taken from you, by Herobrine."

Moohicky. I let out a strangled sob, then turned away. Chaos gave me a surprised look, then turned back to Wingnuts. "He okay?"

Wingnuts looked at me. "Not really... The thing Herobrine took was his girlfriend. We don't know why. But he's been like this ever since." I blinked back tears and sat back on the bed.

I could feel someone staring at me though, and I glanced over my shoulder. Chaos was watching me, open mouthed and seemingly... Sympathetic?

After a few seconds, Chaos blinked then looked at the ground. "That's awful. I know how you feel man."

Bull. No one could know how I was feeling... "How so?"

"Herobrine stole the same thing from me."

Silence. _That explains why Chaos had been so quick to accept the idea of Herobrine attacking people in the Overworld, _I thought.

After what felt like ten minutes, Doomesdaye spoke up. "Uhh... I see. I guess you want to come with us and help us try and rescue his girl?"

Chaos looked up in determination. "If you are willing to help me rescue mine, yes. A thousand times yes." As he said that, he looked at me, and I felt his determination somehow transfer to me. And I felt stronger... We would rescue Moohicky, and Chaos' girlfriend too.

Wingnuts nodded. "It's settled then." He spread his arms wide. "Welcome to the Grounded Team!"

Jay cocked his head. "Just curious. What do you have in equipment terms?"

"Yeah," Wingnuts added. "Almost everything we owned was destroyed by His hordes..." He looked back the way we had trekked from. "They're still following us even now."

"We were lucky a day back though," Doomesdaye cut in, pulling out his sword. "We ran into two people who helped us out, gave us food and swords. Other than that, we have what we ran with."

"I understand," Chaos said, nodding. "It certainly seems like you barely managed to escape him with your lives. I was lucky. I have some basic equipment. But could I please get to know you all better first off?"

"Oh right," Wingnuts said, "Sorry. I'm Wingnuts, warrior."

"Jay," said Jay. "Typically archer, but I've been without a bow for a long time."

"You know me already," Doomesdaye said, "And yes, I'm a miner as well as a warrior."

"He's good with traps," Wingnuts added.

Chaos looked at me. "And you man?"

I winked at the new friend. "I'm Axle. Warrior."

There was a hiss, shortly followed by an explosion. In an instant, everything went berserk. A part of the wooden wall was blasted down, Wingnuts was thrown to the ground, Chaos had drawn an iron axe, and Jay had sat up and pulled his sword out of his belt. Doomesdaye had equipped his pickaxe, and instinctively I had drawn the lime-pommelled sword I had been given by Silvor. There was no time to think, only act as squad of zombies, skeletons and spiders forced their way into the enclosed space of the campsite, closely followed by a nasty looking creeper.

They'd caught up with us, at least some had. Herobrine's hordes had found their way to our safe place, mobile as it was. Without thinking, I let out a short battle cry and ran straight for the nearest skeleton. Seeing me, it drew an arrow back and let it fly at me. I ducked the arrow, hearing it whistle past my right ear, and swung the sword, hitting the skeleton somewhere in its ribcage. The ribs shattered and the skeleton keeled over to the side, but as it did it pulled back a second arrow. I got in close under its guard and ripped the bow out of its bony hands, then stabbed it in the skull. I then grabbed a handful of arrows from the quiver on its back.

Having dealt with one mob, I withdrew the sword and spun to see the creeper trying to creep up behind me. The creeper seemed disappointed it had been seen, but it lit its fuse all the same. I brought the blade down in a short arc and hit the walking bomb in the shoulder. It hissed angrily at the wound which now bled thick, green blood, and pulled back. I leaped backwards at the same time. The creeper, out of range, cut its fuse and stopped sizzling. It noticed Chaos nearer, and turned to him.

Chaos was battling two zombies and a spider, beating them back with his axe, and he didn't see the creeper come up behind him. I acted fast. Leaping up onto one of the beds we had made, I jumped onto the wooden wall, striking a spider who had been climbing up the other side of the wall. The corpse fell away, and I sheathed the sword and pulled out the bow and arrows I had snatched from the skeleton. I levelled it at the creeper just as it began to sizzle behind Chaos.

Chaos spun as the other monsters he was facing backed off at the sound, saw the creeper and froze in terror. I let go of the arrow. Not the best of shots, the arrow fell short of the Creeper's head, but struck it in the middle knocking it sideways. Again the Creeper cut its fuse, hissing at me and Chaos in pure rage. Chaos, back from the trance, swung the axe sideways and hit the green walking bomb across the face. There was a spray of greenish blood, and I turned away, knowing the Creeper was dead.

Using the wall as a vantage point, I ran over to where Doomesdaye was defending the still-injured Jay, stabbing any monsters that came too close with his pick while using the other hand to slash away with his sword. Jay was waving his own blade at anything that tried to come under the miner's guard. I leaned down. "Jay! Here!" He looked up and I dropped the bow and arrows at his feet. He grinned at me and picked them up, fitted an arrow, and fired with deadly accuracy into the battlefield.

I pulled out the sword again and charged back around the wall, to where Wingnuts was now fiercely beating back a skeleton astride a spider. I leaped down and stood beside him, forcing the skeleton to leap down and pull an arrow back. I raised my sword and deflected the arrow to one side, then charged the spider. I stabbed it in the left side and it squealed loudly. Still impaled on my blade, the arachnid tried to reach around and bite me, but I kicked it hard in the head and it went limp. I pushed the spider off my sword and turned around, to see Wingnuts being beaten to the ground by two zombies. In my shock, a skeleton fired point blank range into my ankle and I fell to the ground. I yelled as I felt another zombie grab me from behind, pinning my arms behind me. I felt the sword ripped from my grip and smelt horrid, rotten breath down my neck. I screamed in anger, seeing Chaos and Doomesdaye also going down, the miner with an arrow sticking out of his leg and Chaos with a large scar across his face. The last thing I saw was Jay fire one last arrow at a skeleton, but it missed and impacted in the dirt beside it. He was hit in the side by the skeleton's retaliation and fell down. And I felt stupid for thinking that we could ever take on Herobrine and rescue Moohicky... It had all been pointless. I was hit and clawed again and again, and I felt myself going... _I'm sorry Moohicky,_ I thought, _I couldn't save you..._

Then I saw a bright light shooting down from the sky. It wasn't lightning, it was far too straight and yellow. And I felt warmth wash over me. I let the light spread, filling my vision with white and yellow. I let it take me...

The next thing I felt was... I can't describe it. Strength? Energy? Some kind of Aura? Whatever it was, I felt my eyes open of their own accord and I saw an almost magical scene before me.

The entire clearing where we had pitched the campsite was being illuminated in a cone of light, as if by a spotlight from the sky. Chaos, Doomesdaye and Jay were lying in a heap on the ground in the middle of the campsite. All the monsters that had been attacking us where now being killed, it seemed by streaks of light pouring from the apex of the light cone. The zombies who had been holding Wingnuts and I were lying dead on the ground, and we stood up, staring at the light source.

As our eyes adjusted to the brightness, I could make out a silhouette within the light. A person, floating in the air and smiting all the surrounding monsters one by one with pure light. I picked up my sword, lying on the ground where the now-dead zombies had dropped it.

As the last zombies and skeletons fell, the light dimmed and the figure floated down towards the ground. I subconsciously walked forwards to where Chaos, Doomesdaye and Jay were and stared at the figure. It touched the ground and the light dimmed enough for us to see it more closely. My mouth fell open.

The person had blonde hair and blue eyes, and was wearing a yellow and white cloak with dark grey trousers. I could make out some kind of thin armour beneath the cloak, and the person was holding a long twisted staff in their hand. Without saying a word, the person looked to where Jay was. Doomesdaye and Chaos seemed as confused and surprised as me, but Jay was unconscious. The newcomer knelt before the archer and pulled something out of their belt, a torch that glowed with a soft orange light. The figure waved it over Jay, then placed it in the ground next to him. Then the person stood and gazed at all of us in turn.

Jay blinked, and sat up. He looked around and took in the situation, then focused on the strange torch. "Wha..." he stuttered weakly, then, "Torch?"

The yellow-cloaked figure looked at him and smiled. "Ambrosia. Sit still, it heals."

The person spoke with a warm, friendly voice that I felt I could instantly trust. I blinked and spoke up. "Who... Who are you?" I asked.

The person turned to me and spread their arms. "My name? My name is Auriel."

Doomesdaye opened and shut his mouth several times, then choked out, "You're a Valkyrie, aren't you?"

"I am," the stranger said, winking at the miner. "I am Auriel, Valkyrie of the Aether, and messenger of Notch himself."


	10. Chapter 9 - Into Heaven

**A/N - Hey readers, back at last with another chapter! We're getting to the end of the originals now, and soon the chapters uploaded will be never-before read! Also, the story will be divided up into several Parts, covering each stage of the Grounded team's adventures. This chapter marks the end of Part One, so I'll just run back to Chapter One and write in that's where Part One actually begins... XD**

**Anyway, please favourite/follow, and leave a review if you have a suggestion, need something specified, or just enjoy the story. Thanks!**

**-AxleMC131**

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**Nine – Into Heaven**

**Wingnuts**

I watched, open mouthed, as the Valkyrie called Auriel walked around the remains of our camp. In a corner of my mind, I realized that this was the second time Herobrine's hordes had demolished a settlement of ours. A cold fury against the demi-god sparked inside me, but it was pushed down by the feeling of warmth and hope that seemed to emanate from the very body of the Valkyrie himself. I blinked as he came up next to me.

"You are the leader, yes?" he asked, picking up my sword and handing it to me.

I nodded dumbly, taking the handle. "In... In a way, yeah, I guess..."

Auriel raised his eyebrow. "You are Wingnuts I believe?"

_How the Nether did this guy know who I was,_ I thought. Then again, he was basically an angel. "Uhh, yeah, I am," I responded.

The Valkyrie nodded. He turned to the others and pointed his staff at each of us individually, including Chaos, then said, "You minecraftians call yourselves the Grounded Team. Axle, Doomesdaye, Jay, Wingnuts and you as well Chaos."

Chaos blinked. If the fact that Auriel knew who he was shocked him, he didn't show it.

The Valkyrie seemed unfazed by Chaos' neutral reaction. "But there are two people missing from your company," he continued, "And you would like to have them back?"

Two people missing? But it was just Moohickyalah who had been taken... Who was the second...?

That was answered when Axle let out a small sob and Chaos coughed and looked away. _Chaos' girlfriend too,_ I thought. _That was the second person missing._

Jay breathed deeply and spoke in confusion. "We would like to be able to, yes. But how are we supposed too? They were both taken by Herobrine!"

Auriel looked at Jay. "You believe you cannot face the Demon?" He said this in a calm, accepting tone, not as if to encourage a change of decision.

Jay looked around the others. "Well... Not in our present state," I allowed.

"We have next to nothing to call our own," Doomesdaye agreed, "Including weapons."

"That," the Valkyrie replied, "Will not be a problem."

The entire group of us stared in confusion at Auriel. Chaos was the one to break the silence. "How can a lack of weapons not be a problem?"

"This is Herobrine we're talking about," Axle added quietly. I suspected Axle had already decided to go along with what the Valkyrie was leading up to however. He would do anything to get Moohicky back.

Auriel gave Axle a reassuring look. "If you will allow me to lead you to my realm, all will be explained. Will you follow?"

I frowned. "What if we decide to find Axle and Chaos' girlfriends on our own?"

"You do not know what is at stake here."

"What?" Doomesdaye said. "What is at stake then?"

Auriel looked at the miner, then at the sky. "The world of Minecraftia. All of its dimensions are in danger of being destroyed by the Demon Herobrine."

Again, there was silence as we all stared at the Valkyrie in horror.

"You... You can't be serious!" Axle burst out.

Auriel looked at the broken warrior with sorrow in his eyes for the first time. "I never joke I am afraid. It is a true fact that Herobrine hopes to collapse the three sub-dimensions of Minecraftia, in order to destroy the overworld entirely."

Axle opened his mouth, then closed it again. Then he said, "Oh..."

"Damn," said Jay.

"Crap," Doomesdaye added. Chaos and I exchanged worried looks.

After a pause, Auriel said, "If you would like to follow me to my realm, we may be able to assist you in preparing for this venture." He glanced around us all and pointed his staff at the ground. "Will you stay and attempt to beat the demi-god alone, or will you follow and let us help you save both girls and the entire world of Minecraftia?"

Chaos shuffled uncomfortably. "It all sounds very stereotypical. I mean come on, the whole of Minecraftia? Not possible."

The Valkyrie glanced at the newest Grounded member. "It is entirely up to you whether you accept help or not. Although if you are unable to decide, I must tell you that you are all vital to the survival of Minecraftia. Should you fail, the rest of the world will collapse."

"Hang on," Doomesdaye said, "You're telling us that we're Minecraftia's only hope?"

Auriel merely nodded. "How come!?" Doomesdaye said in annoyance. "We're nothing special, we're just a normal group of Minecraftians!"

"Oh but you are so much more than that," Auriel responded matter-of-factly. "As are the two people Herobrine has captured, Moohickyalah and Krystal Minus-one."

Chaos looked away again. I guessed that this Krystal Minus-one person was his girlfriend.

I glanced at the Valkyrie. "One more question," I asked. Auriel looked at me and nodded. I continued, "What does Herobrine want Moohicky and Krystal Minus-one for specifically? Why them?"

"The reason the Demon has taken those two?" Auriel cocked his head to the side. "It is the same reason that you people are the only ones who can save Minecraftia."

"Which is...?" Jay pressed.

Auriel winked at the archer. "You will find out. If you would please come with me to the Aether...?" With a wave of his staff, a bright portal made of glowstone appeared in front of us. "It is your choice. Stay and find them yourselves, or follow and all will be explained."

I glanced around at the others. Axle and Chaos both nodded. "If there's a chance I can save Moohicky, I'll take it," Axle said.

Doomesdaye shrugged, and said, "Can't hurt to get help I guess. I say go."

"Jay?" I asked.

The archer rubbed his injuries, or at least where they had been. "This guy healed me with a bloody torch! I say these people can help us. Go."

I had already made up my mind to go. "Unanimous," I said, then turned to Auriel. "We're coming with you."

The Valkyrie nodded and smiled. "Very well then. Do follow me please." And he stepped into the portal, winked, and was gone.

"For Moohicky," I heard Axle say quietly as he sheathed his sword and stepped up to the portal.

"For Krystal," Chaos added under his breath.

I grinned. "For Minecraftia. Let's go!"

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**END OF PART ONE**


	11. Chapter 10 - Powers and Eyes

**A/N - Hey readers, here's another original chapter for you lot to enjoy, marking the beginning of PART TWO! If I feel lucky also, I may upload another chapter later today or tomorrow, because I've managed to acquire a reasonable amount of free time. We'll see.**

**Oh right! I may be uploading a new story as a reminder to myself, which will be utilizing OCs that YOU GUYS can submit! You should be able to find that soon, once I upload it... ;P**

**Axle: Hang on, so we're not in it?**

**Nope, sorry! New cast of characters from the readers. It's a completely separate story to yours, and I don't want people to get confused.**

**Wingnuts: Ah well. We can't steal all the attention forever.**

**Damn right you can't. Now get back into the Aether!**

**Doomesdaye: Gah... Fine...**

***Grounded team vanishes***

**Anyway, please fav/follow and leave a review if you're enjoying the Grounded team's adventure!**

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**PART 2 – Above the Clouds**

**Ten – Powers and Eyes**

**Doomesdaye**

I watched as Axle then Chaos stepped up to the swirling blue matter, and rapidly faded away to another world. Wingnuts helped Jay to his feet and the two of them followed after. I turned around and wished the Overworld a silent goodbye and good luck, picked up my sword then hesitantly walked into the portal.

I was instantly surrounded by the blue, twisting substance. It felt tingly on my skin, and my vision began to blur. As the tickling feeling spread over my body, my vision turned completely white. I suddenly discovered a sensation of my body being broken apart, then whisked away to a completely different place and reassembled. The tickling feeling subsided, and my vision returned again. I stepped forward awkwardly and focused on my surroundings.

The whole of the Grounded team and Auriel, as well as the portal itself, were all standing on a small island in the middle of... I crept up to the nearest edge and peered over.

Far, far below us, a few wispy clouds drifted past. No other land rendered into view. I gulped and shuffled back.

The Valkyrie was smiling gratuitously at all us. "I thank you for agreeing to accept our help," he said. "But first we must travel to the mainland, where Notch's Temple resides. That way." Auriel pointed across the large gap to the next island. The distance was far too much to simply jump across.

"How do we get across that?" Jay asked suspiciously. "Do we have to bridge the gap?"

Auriel gave Wingnuts a big wink. "For most of you, that would usually be the case. But you Wingnuts..."

The warrior frowned. "What makes me so special? And how do I get across without bridging? I can't fly..."

The Valkyrie was unfazed by Wingnuts' skepticism. "You see that tree there, right near the edge of the next island? Focus on it hard. Focus on the shadow under it."

Wingntus cocked his head to the side in curiosity, then closed his eyes and concentrated. "Okay...?"

"Imagine yourself standing in that shadow. Focus on the image of you under that tree, across the gap."

**Wingnuts**

Listening to the Valkyrie's coaching, I concentrated on the image he had given me. I visualized the tree in question, across the twenty-odd block gap, and visualized myself standing under it.

Without warning, I felt a strange sensation similar to that of passing through the Aether portal, except it was there and gone much faster. I kept my eyes closed, but I noticed that the light glowing through my eyelids had dimmed slightly. The next thing I heard was a large number of gasps from the others, and Auriel telling me to open my eyes. Their voices all sounded far off though... Confused, I opened my eyes.

"What... Whoa!"

I nearly fell off the edge of the island in shock. Somehow, I had managed to cross the gap from the first island to the next one simply by imagining myself there. The light change had been me... appearing... under the tree. I stared at the ground, the gap, and then at Auriel.

"How... How the Nether did you do that!?" I demanded of the Valkyrie across the abyss.

"I did nothing," he called back grinning. "Try it again, to anywhere you want."

I opened my mouth to speak, then closed it again. An idea formed in my head. I stared at Jay, then closed my eyes and imagined myself next to him. I could guess what had happened, and it seemed easier to achieve this time. In a few seconds I felt the strange feeling again, and when I opened my eyes I was standing behind Jay. The rest of them were all staring back at the tree. Grinning, I tapped Jay on the shoulder. He spun and yelped in surprise.

"Jeez!" he exclaimed, "Don't do that, however you managed it!" Then he froze and stared at me. "Wing... Your eyes..."

The others stared at me. "What about my eyes?" I said.

"They've turned... Purple," Chaos replied. "Like an Enderman."

I frowned, then turned to Auriel. "You'll get used to it. They return to their normal colour after a short time."

I raised my eyebrows. "Right. So... We can teleport? Is that what makes us so special?"

The others nodded and also looked to the Valkyrie eagerly. "I'm afraid that Wingnuts is the only one of you capable of teleporting." I swore I heard Jay sigh in disappointment. "However," Auriel continued, "the rest of you are capable of other... inhuman actions."

"Such as?" Doomesdaye pressed.

The Valkyrie laughed. "All in good time. Now then, I assume some of you are carrying something you can bridge this gap with?"

"I do," Axle said, and pulled a small stack of planks from his bag. He crept over to the edge and wedged the first plank firmly into the dirt, pointing out over nothing. As he locked the second plank in place, I had an idea. "Axle, pass me some of the planks and I'll meet you halfway?"

Axle glanced at me, then back at the other island. "Good idea Wing. Here." He threw a few of the planks back to me and carried on bridging. Once more, I focused on the point under the tree, and almost instantly this time I was there. I was getting used to this power very quickly, almost like I'd had it forever...

But no. I couldn't have had these powers before, I would have felt... Different. It must've been a trick of Auriel, giving us some special powers.

I shook that thought off and began my end of the bridge. When Axle and I reached each other in the middle, I turned and ran back off the tree-end to allow everyone else to pass by. Auriel walked off last and gestured to us to follow him. "Let us continue friends. You have far to go, and much to learn about yourselves."

Doomesdaye and Jay exchanged looks of eager curiosity, then followed the Valkyrie up a steep hill that masked the rest of the island from us. The rest of us trooped after.

As we reached the top of the hill, it became clear that our way was blocked by a dry-looking hedge that stretched from side to side of the floating island. It was a good four blocks high and seemed almost as deep. We all stopped.

Auriel jerked his head towards the green-brown leaves. "We continue through there."

Axle pulled out his sword and made as if to begin hacking away at the leaves, but Auriel put a hand on his shoulder before he could do anything. Axle raised his eyebrow at the Valkyrie.

"Chaos?" Auriel called. "Step forward please."

Chaos seemed surprised but he came forward all the same. "How can I help?" He asked.

The Valkyrie stepped back a pace. "This hedge is very dry, yes? Susceptible to fire?"

Chaos nodded and pulled out his flint and steel, but again Auriel wasn't convinced. "You will not be needing that."

Chaos raised his eyebrows. "How do you mean?"

The Valkyrie sighed, then spread his arms wide. "All of you have special powers that you will discover one by one. I will not tell you what they are until they are needed of course, but I will give you a clue. All your abilities are derived from that of a Minecraftia monster. Wingnuts, you have the Enderman's ability to teleport. Chaos, if I told you that your derived monster was the one on your belt buckle, what would you do against this test?" Auriel gestured back at the hedge.

All of us were silent for a few seconds. Then Chaos opened his mouth and said quietly, "Fire?"

Auriel nodded. I glanced down at Chaos' belt buckle. It was a Blaze. I frowned.

Auriel stepped up to Chaos, gently took hold of his right arm and raised it to point at the hedge. Chaos's face gained a steely expression and he seemed to focus in much the same way I had. I gasped suddenly. His eyes were changing colour, from their usual golden shine to a burning orangey red. And without warning, Chaos' hand burst into flame. We all jumped back in horror, but Auriel didn't seem bothered by this sudden combustion. Chaos flinched and looked at his hand in shock, but he clearly wasn't in any pain. He turned his hand over a few times, taking in the flames that engulfed his fingers and palm, then looked up at Auriel, open mouthed.

Auriel nodded and said simply, "You may fire at will."

Chaos looked back at the hedge. Instinctively, he pulled his blazing hand back against his shoulder, then pushed it away from him like a shotput.

The fire left his hand and traveled straight towards the hedge. On contact, the fireball sent sparks and flame everywhere, and in seconds a whole portion of the hedge was alight.


	12. Chapter 11 - Pitted against Gods

**A/N - Hey guys, I know it's been a long time coming because of my new story Base of Operations, but White-eyed Nightmares is still going! Please leave a review if you liked the story. :)**

**- AxleMC131**

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**Eleven – Pitted against Gods**

**Axle**

I watched in awe as the hedge steadily burned. I was worried that burning down a part of the Aether would've angered the Valkyrie, but a quick glance at Auriel made it clear that this was what he had intended.

After a minute or so, a large portion of the hedge had burnt away, leaving a wide ember-filled gap. Auriel calmly strode through and tilted his head for us to continue. As I walked through the hole in the smouldering leaves and branches, I saw Chaos was still standing still, gazing at his hand in a mixture of amazement and shock.

"Chaos?" I called, "You coming?"

He looked up and nodded quickly, then followed the rest of us through the crackling bushes. We carried on across the island, which I noticed seemed to curve to the left far ahead of us.

As I walked alongside Auriel, a thought popped into my head. Something he had said and hadn't been explained... "Auriel?"

"Yes Axle?" he replied without looking down.

I took a breath. "You said that the reason Herobrine kidnapped Moohicky and Krystal was the same reason we were so special. And what makes us so special is that we have mob-like powers...?"

"You want to know if they have powers of monsters also?"

I nodded. The Valkyrie was silent for a moment, then continued, "Yes. They too have monster-related powers."

I frowned. "Then why did Herobrine choose them out of all the rest of us? Is it something to do with them being girls?"

"No no, nothing like that," Auriel responded. "At least, we don't believe that was a reason."

"Then... Why them?"

Auriel sighed. "You would find out eventually. It is because of what monsters their powers originate from. Two very special monsters, with unimaginable powers in the world of Minecraftia. You can probably guess what they are."

I nodded slowly, but didn't respond. Yes, I had a theory, but I had one more question. "One more thing. Why do you refer to yourself as 'we'? Who else is here to support us?"

The Valkyrie grinned. "'We' is everyone who knows about what Herobrine is planning."

"Which is?"

"Most of the Aether's residents, and His Highness Notch of course."

I blinked. "So Notch is really on our side here. But why can he not go and fix Herobrine himself?"

Auriel sighed. "Well... He has been weakened by Herobrine's progress so far. It saddens me to see him that way, but the only way to help him is to destroy Herobrine's progress and restore balance."

We all stared at the Valkyrie. "You mean... Notch is being slowly overpowered by Herobrine?" Doomesdaye asked.

Auriel simply nodded sadly.

"How did Notch fail to stop him?"

"We aren't sure," Auriel replied, "All we know is that several months ago Notch felt a surge of power cross the Aether, and he has been severely weakened by whatever happened."

"That's... Not good," Wingnuts said. "But... What is Herobrine actually doing?"

Auriel stopped walking and looked at the warrior. "I have told you already, he is attempting to collapse the three sub-dimensions of Minecraftia in order to destroy the overworld."

"Then I'll ask again," I pressed. "What does the demon want with Moohicky and Krystal? Are they going to help him achieve it or something, 'cause I know Moohicky would never do that!"

Auriel continued walking. "I'm afraid Herobrine may have brainwashed or blackmailed them to do his bidding. And yes, he needs them to help him achieve this destruction."

"How?" Jay demanded.

Auriel sighed. "It is possible he is using them as relays to absorb energy from both the Nether and the End realms. I am not sure how that works exactly, but it has to do with them being powered by the... creatures... of those realms."

"They're off the Wither and Enderdragon aren't they?"

We all turned to stare at Doomesdaye. He put up his hands in defence. "Everyone's thinking it, I'm just saying it!"

"You are correct of course," Auriel observed, "Their powers do indeed originate from the two most destructive and strongest monsters in Minecraftia. Short of Herobrine himself..." I could've sworn the Valkyrie sneered as he spoke the demon's name.

"Umm," Wingnuts said, "Can I ask something? Something that I hope has occurred to everyone else?"

We changed our glances to him. Auriel nodded. "Go ahead."

"How do we have these powers in the first place!?"

The Valkyrie grinned. "Ah, I was hoping you'd ask that. You five Minecraftians and the two prisoners... You are all Creature-borns, and have been since you entered this world."

There was a long pause where we all stared at Auriel.

"Creature-born?" Jay asked quietly. "But... I thought Creature-borns were just legends and myths? You're saying they're real?"

"Not only that," Auriel added, "But they are you."

Chaos opened his mouth. "So... What, were we destined to save Minecraftia or something?"

"Perhaps."

A shorter pause.

"Right," I said slowly. "I guess we would never have had a choice then." Auriel shook his head.

Doomesdaye looked to Wingnuts and Chaos in turn. "So Wingnuts is, what... The Enderborn? And Chaos is the Blazeborn?"

"Correct."

I connected the dots. "That means that Moohicky and Krystal are the Witherborn and the Dragonborn?" I spoke quickly and excitedly.

"Correct again."

"Which one is Moohicky?"

"Witherborn."

I shut my mouth. This was a lot to take in. Herobrine trying to take over Minecraftia, my friends and I all Creatureborns, Moohicky still alive but in captivity, Notch being slowly overthrown by Herobrine... I sat down in the lush grass. Auriel gave me a look.

"You are under much stress?"

I nodded dumbly. Chaos dropped down beside me, obviously struggling to take this all in as well.

The Valkyrie smiled reassuringly. "You will be alright, both of you. Come now, we have further to travel and more to learn."

Wingnuts helped me to my feet. I shook my head to clear my thoughts and focused on following the Valkyrie again.


	13. Chapter 12 - Arching Bridges

**A/N - And another chapter for White-eyed Nightmares! Like I said for Base of Operations, I'm going camping over Labour weekend, so little (if any) typing will be happening. So, I'll give you some more chapters before we leave. :)**

**Enjoy as the Grounded team continue finding out what creatures they are derived from... And leave a review if you like the story!**

**- AxleMC131**

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**Twelve – Arching Bridges**

**Jay**

Several minutes later we reached the end of the island we were on. The next few islands were much smaller but closer together, and there were handsomely-crafted wooden bridges spanning some of the gaps between them. There was no fixed path from one side to the other. Much farther away to the left was another large island, which I guessed was the next part of our path. We trooped down the side of the hill to where the island we were on ended.

Auriel stopped at the foot of the hill, a few blocks from the edge. "Archer, you are next."

I looked from side to side, then at the Valkyrie. "Me?"

He nodded and grinned. "Yes you, Jay. Look around and tell me what you can see."

I raised an eyebrow, but looked around all the same, taking in our surroundings.

First observation. There was no bridge connecting the island we were on to the next one.

Second observation. Not ten blocks away from our vantage point was a short pillar with what looked like a dispenser perched on top of it. There was a button at the base of it.

"What do you see?"

I looked back at Auriel. "Uhh... Many islands with bridges between them? And no bridge here..."

The Valkyrie nodded. "Continue."

"This dispenser on a pole?" I gestured at the structure in question.

Another nod. "Push the button."

"Oookay...?" I moved over to the side where the button was. The rest of the Grounded team watched me in interest. Clearly I was able to do something involving... bridges and a dispenser? I knelt down and pressed the button inwards. There a soft click from above me. I looked up to see an arrow flung unceremoniously from the dispenser, then watched as its momentum faltered and it began to fall away from the Aether. After waiting a few more seconds, I concluded that nothing more was to happen, and turned back to the Valkyrie.

"Well?" I said. The others shifted their gaze from me to the Valkyrie.;

Auriel smiled at me. "Do you notice the pressure pads on each of the islands?"

I hadn't. Looking back over the floating fragmented fields, I could just make out a narrow wooden pad on each of the islands. "Oh I see them," Doomesdaye said neutrally.

"So... What now?" Wingnuts inquired of the Valkyrie.

"The pressure pads are your targets. The arrows are your... Ammunition. I'll leave you to figure out the rest." With a wink, Auriel stood back and sat upon a small mound of dirt, watching.

I turned to Wingnuts. "I don't get it Wing. How do we get the arrows from the dispenser onto the pressure sensors?"

The warrior just shrugged. Chaos looked thoughtful. "Would the plates be sensitive to fire?"

Axle shook his head. "Not a good idea Chaos. We don't want to burn down the bridges. By the looks of things they're the only way across."

Wingnuts nodded. "Even for me. Something tells me I can only teleport so far, and that last gap over there is huge!"

Doomesdaye stepped closer to the edge, staring at the last gap Wingnuts had mentioned. "Hang on... See the last two islands before the next big land mass?"

I nodded. "Yeah?"

"Well, they're really far apart. And look at the bridge connecting them, it's about the right length to reach from one of those islands to the mainland."

Axle glanced at the miner. "What's your point Doomesdaye?"

"I get it," Wingnuts said. "Bridges. I'll bet you..." He and Doomesdaye exchanged looks and turned to Auriel. Simultaneously, the two Minecraftians both said, "Can the bridges be moved?"

Auriel simply grinned and nodded once. Doomesdaye gave a tiny fist-pump, then looked back at the islands.

"Okay," I said, "That's all really cool, but how do we move them... Oh." I face-palmed internally. "Pressure pads. Of course." I spun and gave the Valkyrie a look. "But I still don't get how I can get arrows from here..." I punched the button for emphasis and heard a second arrow whistle over my head and into nothing. "... To those sensors!"

Auriel stared back at me. "Wingnuts uses his mind to teleport. Chaos uses his mind to summon flames. Try something similar."

I turned back to the dispenser, no less confused. "I still don't get it..."

Then I heard Axle's voice. "Jay... I'll bet that you can control the direction of arrows telepathically."

That was brilliant. I spun and stared at Axle. "You're a genius Axle." I saw Auriel chuckling to himself out of the corner of my eye. The lonely warrior was undoubtedly right. The rest of the group looked at him, then looked at me, as if to say 'Go on, try it!'

Inspired now, I hit the button once more. Holding my arm out in front of me, I pointed my palm at the arrow as it left the muzzle of the primitive cannon. Focusing hard, I willed the projectile to climb.

For a few seconds nothing happened. The arrow continued on its usual path, and dropped out of sight. Gritting my teeth, I wrenched my arm upwards in a last futile attempt.

For a beat nothing happened. Then a flash of grey and white shot past my face and into the air. Staring up in amazement, I watched as they arrow slowed, then appeared to hover in the air some thirty or forty blocks above my arm. I blinked. "Wow, cool!"

"Whoa," Axle exclaimed. "The eyes are definitely a thing. Yours have turned grey!" The others glanced at me in turn. 'i think you could just possibly be the Skeletonborn...?"

"The pressure plates Jay," Doomesdaye reminded me. "Try the nearest one first."

I looked back at the islands. "Oh yeah," I grinned. Concentrating on moving the arrow, I brought my arm down slowly. Above me, the arrow spun to point the right way and began moving towards the first island. When I estimated it was right above the pressure pad, I closed my hand into a fist.

The arrow dropped like a stone. Or like an arrow flying straight downwards towards the ground. There was a faint twang as the projectile connected with the wooden target, followed by faint puffs of redstone emanating from the island. After a second, I heard a loud wrenching sound from the base of the bridge. Confused, I put my attention on the wooden structure.

With a myriad of creaks and groans, the entire bridge slowly raised up by a block or two, revealing a complex looking system of pistons below the base. As the rest of the Grounded team, Auriel, and myself looked on, the bridge began to steadily rotate around the island towards us on some hidden rail. It turned for several seconds before the end of it connected with our island. There was a heavy clunk and the bridge juddered to a halt, then dropped by a block. A second clunk as it locked into place.

Open mouthed, I stared in awe at what I had just achieved. When I could speak again, I said, "That. Was so awesome... I just moved a bridge with an arrow!"

Auriel stood up and grinned at me. "It's not over yet. We have to get all the way to the next mainland. If you lot would like to go ahead, I'm sure Wingnuts wouldn't mind waiting here to continue firing arrows?"

The warrior looked up in surprise. "Oh, not at all. I can catch up with them easily enough anyway."

"Exactly," The Valkyrie replied.

Axle glanced at me. "Well Jay? Shall we continue?"

I grinned. "Yep. Follow me, and Wing?"

"Hmm?"

"Give us an arrow!"

The warrior mock-saluted me as the rest of us began to troop across the bridge to the first island. "With pleasure Jay!" I heard a click behind me as the arrow was fired.


	14. Chapter 13 - Holes

**A/N - Hey guys, like I said on Base of Operations, NCEA exams are starting next week, so I won't be able to type or update much I'm afraid. So, I'll give you guys all one more chapter before I leave. Read, enjoy and review! And I see you all in about a month. Toodles my faithful readers!**

**- AxleMC131**

**PS. Enjoy the cliffhanger. ;P  
**

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**Thirteen – Holes**

**Axle**

As we progressed across the maze of islands and bridges, I realized that Jay was getting far more confident with his control of the arrows. He had begun bringing them closer to us before striking the target pressure plates, flying them not five blocks away from us.

I ducked as a particularly close one whistled over my head. "Jay! Cut it out!" I yelled. Ahead, I saw him turn and merely wave with a silly expression on his face. I shook my head in exasperation. Jay could be a pain in the ass sometimes.

The last arrow Jay decided he would give a little flourish. Pulling it over to hang high above our heads as we stood on the final island around the target, the archer made it spin in a narrow spiral, dropping steadily down towards us. With a laugh Jay held his hand straight and let the arrow rotate until it was pointing straight down. Flicking his wrist, the arrow began to spin, the flight turning into a white blur, until Jay finally clenched his hand. The arrow dropped as if shot, straight down to the ground and smacked into the pressure plate. There was a loud crack and the wooden pad split down the middle from the force of the shot, blocking out the quieter snap of the arrow breaking in half. Jay's look of joy turned rather sheepish as we gave him dirty looks. His eyes faded from grey to their usual dark brown, and he gave a quiet "sorry," as the bridge behind him raised and turned.

Wingnuts appeared suddenly, teleporting onto the island with us. He shook his head. "Don't overdo it Jay. It's just wood."

"Yeah yeah," Jay muttered, following the rest of us onto the bridge.

**Jay**

I walked after the others sheepishly. I may have gotten a little carried away with my newfound power... I shook my head and carried on. Auriel the Valkyrie flew over my head suddenly and landed on the next mainland. He beckoned us on and we strode up to stand by him.

Auriel glanced around at us, then pointed at Doomesdaye. "You are next, miner."

"Oh, me? Okay...?" Doomesdaye stepped forwards. "What's the next... Challenge?"

The Valkyrie waved his arm towards the open pasture before us that made up this landmass. "Buried somewhere in this field is a chest which contains some vital pieces of equipment for each of you. You will need to search around the earth and find where it is hidden. I promise you it isn't deep."

Doomesdaye frowned. "Let me guess. My pickaxe isn't necessary?"

"Correct."

"Right. So, how?"

Auriel walked a few blocks over to a flat patch of grass away from us. "Come here, Doomesdaye. Stand here, concentrate hard, and think, 'Boom'." He gave a wink.

I watched intently as Doomesdaye stood where Auriel had been, while the Valkyrie walked back out of the way. "In your own time," he added with a nod.

Doomesdaye looked around in confusion. "Uhh... Okay..." He took a few breaths and closed his eyes, then spoke again, saying just one word. "Boom?" He opened his eyes to reveal bright green orbs.

The ground rocked as the patch of earth where Doomesdaye had been standing, spontaneously erupted in a blast of dirt and rubble. I gave a yell, wondering what had happened to our friend, when suddenly I heard him say "Shit, I'm the Creeperborn!"

I froze with my mouth open. The dust blew away and I could just see the top of Doomesdaye's head peering out from a shallow crater that had been blasted into the field. The miner climbed up out of the hole, perfectly unharmed and shook his head, before looking back at the crater he had apparently made. "Whoa, holy crap!" he yelled in shock. "I did that?"

Auriel nodded. "Yes you did. Now you see how you must find this hidden chest."

Doomesdaye opened his mouth to speak, then decided against it.

"So," Axle said in his place, "He has to dig around this field by, what... Exploding the ground?"

"For lack of a more detailed explanation, yes."

I stared. "Phew, quite a power."

"And he's immune to the explosions?" Wingnuts added.

"Mostly, if the blast is only that size," The Valkyrie nodded. I gave a low whistle.

"That," Doomesdaye said at last, "Is cool. Plain awesome." He turned around and surveyed the field. "How about that bit there?" Without waiting for an answer, he began walking over to the patch he had chosen and planted himself firmly upon it. Giving us all a look, half amusement and half surprise, he mouthed the word 'Boom' and disappeared in a cloud of earth and smoke.

Over the course of about ten minutes, Doomesdaye wandered around the meadow exploding patches of earth, clearly enjoying himself. The rest of us watched from a distance, safe from the blast and flying chunks of soil. Eventually the miner gave a cry of "Found it!" and began walking back to us dragging a long, thin chest behind him.

"That is the chest, well done," Auriel acknowledged. He turned to us. "Come, the contents of this treasure is aimed at all of you." We followed him up to where Doomesdaye was.

The miner dropped the chest and sat on the ground next to it. "What's in that thing Auriel?" he asked. "It's bloody heavy!"

The Valkyrie's face grew stern. "I wish you to understand how grateful I am that you have accepted coming here. I also wish you to understand just how grateful the rest of the Aether is, and they had in fact prematurely shown that gratitude before they even knew you would accept my offer. It is a great honour, you must acknowledge, to accept these gifts.

"But what you must also remember, is that these are gifts not without purpose. You all say you are weak on weapons and supplies? These gifts will solve that issue. Safe inside the walls of this chest lie five relics, specially crafted in a way that only gods can. Each suits your derived creature, as well as your favoured tools. Each is constructed of a base material with an infusion of another, creating a strong magic around them."

Auriel looked at the chest pointedly. "And one more thing. Each of these artifacts has been designed, by the gods, to bring about the demise of Him."

I was speechless. Auriel pulled a dark metal key out of a hidden pocket of his robes, then leaned down to unlock the ornate chest.


End file.
